


catra cafe

by clicheusername5678



Series: Catradora Oneshots [15]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Cat Cafe, F/F, Modern AU, college students
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22129648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clicheusername5678/pseuds/clicheusername5678
Summary: A simple modern AU about Catra, Adora, and the cat cafe that reunites them.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Catradora Oneshots [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1264781
Comments: 3
Kudos: 211





	catra cafe

**Author's Note:**

> hey! so this was originally part of the 30-day catradora thing i was trying to do for january, but uh i have a job and my hours are a lot and i also volunteer at a cat shelter AND i'm a full-time college student so i decided to stop. anyway here's lesbians

“Half Moon Cafe,” Adora read the sign aloud. She joined her roommate, Glimmer, and her boyfriend, Bow, at the newly-opened establishment’s front window. Glimmer and Adora didn’t get off the campus of their all-girls school very often, despite its central city location, so Bow took it upon himself to show them fun places outside Bright Moon College. Today, he had hyped them up for a unique and fun experience, with the added bonus of coffee.

“Aw, Bow!” Glimmer exclaimed, pressing her nose to the window. Inside the cafe a dozen cats laid around on cushions and couches, showing varying levels of interest in the humans petting and playing with them. The walls were navy blue, and the ceiling was peppered with tiny lights that resembled stars. They almost reminded her of t stick-ons from the childhood bedroom she had once shared with—

“Adora,” Bow said softly, “you okay? We don’t have to do this, I didn’t ask about allergies, that’s my bad.”

“No!” Adora exclaimed. “Sorry, I’m not allergic, just spacing out. This is awesome.”

“Great!” Bow enthused. “I signed us up for the 2-3 slot. I think there’s a waiting room where we can check in now.”

Glimmer pecked Bow on the cheek and got the door for him and Adora. Even though Adora was technically the third wheel when the Best Friends Squad hung out, she rarely felt uncomfortable. It was nice to see them together, especially since Glimmer’s schedule prevented her from meeting up with Bow on most days.

The lobby of the cafe had sienna-colored walls with motivational cat posters semi-ironically plastered over the check-in desk. A woman around Adora’s age stood behind it, running a hand through her short white hair as she focused on the business’ laptop.

“Hi!” Glimmer chirped, startling the woman to attention.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “Pinterest is just so _engaging_ , yknow!”

This got Glimmer into an entire conversation about her favorite website with the woman apparently named Scorpia. Eventually, she checked the guests in and pointed to the the door for the actual cafe.

“You can go in at 2,” she said. “Take your shoes off here, please! The boss hates when the floor gets all gross in there. I think it’s just because she likes being barefoot, but that’s beside the point.”

Adora did as told, nervously turning back to Scorpia. “Um, I haven’t been around cats a lot,” she said. “What do I… do?”

Scorpia gave a hearty laugh, which Glimmer and Bow echoed. “Honestly, sometimes you just have to cross your fingers that they’ll like you, and be patient enough to earn their trust. Luckily, we do have some kittens right now, and those guys would play and cuddle with anyone.”

“Aw!” Glimmer and Bow answered in unison. Adora sighed.

~

Glimmer and Bow had both ordered coffees, while Adora settled with tea. She cut herself off of caffeine a few months ago after she hit rock bottom with four cups a day just to stay awake. While her friends played with two tabby kittens on the plush carpet, Adora sat on a couch and sipped her drink, taking Scorpia’s advice to heart.

To be honest, Adora had avoided cats for the past couple of years. She just had some weird associations.

“Hi,” she said as a fluffy black cat curled up beside her. “Can I… pet you?”

The cat only blinked at her, and then lowered its head to nap. Adora slowly placed her hand on its back, stroking slowly.

“Not so bad,” she said to herself. It was actually really calming to nestle beside the feline, earning a low purr from her new friend.

She looked up as the door from the back room opened, revealing a employee Adora hadn’t seen before. The woman was short and petite, with her messy dark hair and rips in her jeans. It took Adora barely a second to recognize her oldest friend, her face going sheet-white.

“Hey, Adora,” said Catra, raising a single eyebrow and feigning nonchalance. “Nice of you to stop by.”

The black cat suddenly rejected Adora’s touch, hopping off the couch and rubbing against Catra’s leg. Bow and Glimmer, too preoccupied with the kittens, hadn’t even noticed the room’s shift in tone.

“Catra,” Adora said slowly, standing up and straightening her spine. “I didn’t know you were in the city.”

“Well, surprise,” Catra said coolly. “I’ve been living here for the past two years, while you’ve been at princess school.”

Adora cringed at the popular nickname for her college, commonly used to mock the elite and pretentious young women who attended. Adora was slightly different from her peers, the “princesses,” in that she was only attending because of a massive scholarship she won in a lottery for former foster care kids.

Catra, Adora’s best and only friend from childhood to teens, her constant companion at Weaver’s shitty foster house, had also applied for the scholarship. When Adora won and she lost, she had no college lined up after high school graduation. Too overwhelmed by jealousy and guilt respectively, Catra and Adora went their separate ways the July before Adora’s freshman year.

But here she was, in the city, staring Adora down with those beautiful mismatched eyes. Eyes that Adora thought of far too often, eyes that really never left her. The good thing about an school like Bright Moon was that Adora had enough to do that she could blow dating off in favor of schoolwork. The truth—that she was still in love with her high school ex—was a lot more complicated and embarrassing to admit.

“Do you work here?” Adora said, mustering a smile. “That’s so great!”

“Gee, thanks for the approval,” Catra rolled her eyes.

“Well, I mean, I had no idea what you were gonna do—”

“I _own_ this place,” Catra said flatly. “Maybe I’m not at some fancy school, but I’m not a bum.”

Adora frowned. “I never said you were—”

“Save it, Adora,” Catra muttered, turning towards the lobby. “I’m taking my lunch break,” she called to Scorpia, slamming the door behind her.

At some point Bow and Glimmer had stopped playing with the kittens.

“You heard that, huh?” Adora asked, collapsing back down on the couch.

“Ye-ep,” they said in unison.

“We can go, if you want,” Bow offered.

Adora scowled and crossed her arms. “No. I’m staying until she comes back.”

“Uh, Adora, are you sure that’s a good idea? Like, financially? And emotionally?”

“Don’t care,” Adora asserted, allowing the black cat to settle directly on her lap.

“Ooookay,” Glimmer said, knowing Adora well enough to respect her stubborness. “Well, Bow’s dads are expecting us at 3:15, so…”

“You go,” Adora said. She gave Glimmer a tired, hopefully reassuring grin. “You know about me and Catra. I have to stick this out.”

Glimmer sighed and nodded. “Yeah, no, I get it.”

She and Bow stood, said goodbye to the kittens, and headed for the door. Adora peeked her head out, making sure to stand in the way of any cats trying to dart. Bow and Glimmer waved Adora goodbye and shuffled out the door as Scorpia looked up from her laptop.

“Uh, aren’t you with them?” she asked, motioning towards the window.

Adora shook her head. “When’s Catra coming back?”

Scorpia’s eyebrows flew upwards. “Catra?! How do you know Catra?”

“I’m an old friend.”

Scorpia narrowed her eyes, looking Adora up and down. “Wait… blue eyes… dumb hair pouf… _massive_ forehead… you’re Adora!”

“I… yes, that’s me, but… did she say that?”

“Uh. Maybe.”

Adora groaned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Listen, I want to talk to her. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

Scorpia shrugged. “No idea.”

“Great,” Adora said. “I’ll buy a spot in the 3-4 session. And the 4-5. And the 5-6, if I have to. When do you close?”

“Seven.”

“And Catra has to come back by then, right?”

Scorpia sighed, her face softening. “You really do care, huh.”

“I just want to talk to her. I never thought I’d be able to, but now that I know she’s in the city… I can’t go until I do.”

The white-haired woman gave Adora a knowing smile. “She hasn’t had a girlfriend in all the time I’ve known her.”

Adora blushed. “Oh, well, I mean, she should do what she wants—”

“She talks to me,” Scorpia continued, “and she’s my friend, and I want her to be happy, and that’s why I’m telling you… she still wants _you_. So, y’know… don’t give up.”

Adora’s heart stopped. “She said that?”

“Once or twice,” Scorpia recalled, “or, more like eight hundred times.”

“I wish things hadn’t ended the way they did,” Adora said, implying that Scorpia knew the backstory.

“She was a few years younger then,” Scorpia reasoned. “She said she was pissed that you won the scholarship, and you acted weird and guilty all the time, and she didn’t want to get hurt or hold you back.”

“That’s not—”

“But you should really be discussing this with Catra,” Scorpia said, glancing towards the front window. There she was, a natural scowl on her face, carrying a brown bag of takeout Chinese food.

Adora took and deep breath and pointed towards the cat room. “I’ll just, uh, be in there.”

Scorpia nodded and Adora quickly closed the door.

Her mind in a million places, Adora sat back down on the couch. She was immediately greeted not only by the black cat, but also the two kittens. She grabbed a cat wand and absentmindedly entertained them, watching the doorknob and holding her breath.

The knob turned and Catra entered, obviously aware that Adora was inside. She closed the door behind her and stood awkwardly against the wall, holding lo mein and chopsticks.

“Looks good,” Adora said, glancing at the food.

Catra shrugged. “It’s all right. I’ve had better.”

The kittens continued to play with the string toy, but Adora only saw Catra. She was blushing atop her freckles, reeling over something Scorpia must have just said.

“Wanna take a seat?” Adora asked, patting the couch cushion beside her.

Catra sighed and slowly made her way across the room to join her oldest friend. “I’ve missed you,” she admitted.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“We’re not good at talking, are we?”

“We can get better.”

The black cat hopped up on the couch, laying right between Catra and Adora. It purred loudly as both women awkwardly pet its fur.

“This one really likes me,” Adora observed. “What’s its name?”

The blush on Catra’s face suddenly doubled. “Oh, uh… well, I name them, and with the amount we get, most of the good meaningful names have already been used, so…”

“Adora,” the blonde read off the cat’s tiny nametag. “You named it Adora.”

Catra looked down at the ground, obviously mortified by the entire situation. Then, slowly, she looked right into Adora’s eyes.

“She’s my favorite we’ve ever had,” she said. “So I think the name suits her.”

“Oh, Catra…”

“But that’s not because I like y—”

Adora enveloped Catra in a hug, a few lo mein noodles falling from the container in her hand.

“Sorry,” Adora said, still holding tight, but trying not to squish the cat between them. Catra squeezed back, and everything felt more okay than it had in years.

“Me too.”


End file.
